May 2022
The Climate Friendly Home lands in Victoria
The City of Victoria is poised to launch a new electrification advertising and marketing campaign to help educate residents on the core characteristics of a "Climate Friendly Home".
The campaign is centred on a whimsical cartoon mascot who appears in a series of short animated videos to explain how electric space and water heating equipment and electric kitchen appliances can help residents lower their carbon footprint while keeping them comfy and healthy. The character also appears in print advertising and posters.
In its 2018 Climate Leadership Plan, the City of Victoria committed to an 80% reduction in community greenhouse gas emissions and a shift to 100% renewable energy by 2050. Since homes and other buildings constitute a significant portion of community emissions, the city hopes the Climate Friendly Home campaign will educate and engage residents and generate interest in various energy efficiency and electrification initiatives.
Keep a lookout for the Climate Friendly Home character on signage in and around Victoria this summer. The city received a grant from our Sustainable Communities program to help fund the campaign. It's designed to be easily picked up and used by other communities around the province. For information, contact John Ho.
Energy advisor industry picks up speed
You can't build a new high performance home to meet the requirements of the BC Energy Step Code without an energy advisor. Fortunately, their numbers have multiplied in recent months. As of the end of March, a query on the CleanBC Program Qualified Energy Advisor search tool returned a list of 153 New Home Energy Advisors. The program has seen steady growth, with 71 new B.C.-based new home energy advisors added to the search tool in 2021, and 13 added between January and March 2022. The list includes two serving Northern B.C. from their office in Prince George. To find energy advisors, search by service and location at BetterHomesBC.ca.
Kamloops Training House a win for everyone
The Thompson Rivers University (TRU) School of Trades and Technology and the Central Interior local of the Canadian Home Builders Association recently completed the 2022 Y Dream Home located in Tobiano, near Kamloops. The "training house" served as a training ground for TRU students to learn the techniques and materials associated with high-performance, above-code construction. The two partners have together built a training house every year for 32 years thanks to funds raised through the Dream Home Lottery support YMCA/YWCA programs.
The home not only provides a hands-on learning opportunity for students, but it also serves as a community showcase for how to build better and more efficiently. This year's home meets the performance requirements of Step 3, Part 9 of the BC Energy Step Code.
Say "hello" to Ting Pan at the City of Nanaimo
Ting Pan recently joined The City of Nanaimo as a Manager of Sustainability, and comes to the gig with impressive credentials. Previously she worked as a senior policy analyst with the Province of British Columbia's Climate Action Secretariat, and prior to that she worked sustainability positions with the District of Saanich, Island Health, and the Regional District of Nanaimo. The Sustainable Communities program provides partial funding for Ting's position. Welcome to the team, Ting.